The Role
So what is a trustee?
Under Irish law, pension schemes and employment-linked group life assurance schemes are set up under trust. Each trust must have trustee(s) who are responsible for the administration of the scheme.
The trustee is required to administer the scheme in accordance with the trust documentation, the Pensions Act 1990, trust law, Revenue rules and other relevant legislation.
In practice, day-to-day trustee duties will be delegated to a registered administrator.
The trustee is responsible for choosing a default investment strategy which will apply if members’ don’t select their own funds and for choosing the range of investment funds available to members. The trustee monitors and reviews the effectiveness of the investments periodically.
The role ranges from day-to-day compliance to long-term strategic issues.